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Caribbean
| colspan="2" | thumb|365px|Central America and the Caribbean [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/reference_maps/pdf/central_america.pdf (detailed pdf map)] |} The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. These islands curve southward from the bottom tip of Florida to the Northwest of Venezuela in South America. There are at least 7000 islands, islets, reefs and cayes in the region. They are organized into twenty-five territories including sovereign states, overseas departments and dependencies. The name "West Indies" originates from Christopher Columbus' idea that he had landed in the Indies (then meaning all of south and east Asia) when he had in fact reached the Americas. The name "Caribbean" is named after the Caribs, one of the dominant Amerindian groups in the region at the time of European contact. The Caribbean consists of the Greater and Lesser Antilles and is often considered part of North America. At one time there was a short-lived country called the Federation of the West Indies composed of the English-speaking Caribbean islands of the region. The Caribbean area is also famous for its sea pirates. See the article piracy in the Caribbean. Historical groupings Main article: History of the Caribbean Most islands at some point were, or still are, colonies of European nations: * British West Indies / Anglophone_Caribbean - Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the Turks and Caicos Islands * Danish West Indies - present-day United States Virgin Islands * Dutch West Indies - present-day Netherlands Antilles and Aruba * French West Indies - Haiti and the French overseas departements of Guadeloupe and Martinique * Spain - Cuba, Hispaniola (present-day Dominican Republic and Haiti), Puerto Rico The British West Indies, were formerly united by the United Kingdom into a West Indies Federation. The independent countries which were once a part of the B.W.I. still have a unified composite cricket team that successfully competes in test matches and one-day internationals. The West Indies cricket team, includes the South American nation of Guyana, the only former British colony on that continent. In addition, these countries share the University of the West Indies as a regional entity. The university consists of three main campuses in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, a smaller campus in the Bahamas and Resident Tutors in other contributing territories. Present-day territories of the Caribbean See also: Caribbean South America, Caribbean_basin * (British dependency) * **Antigua **Barbuda * (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) * **Abaco **Andros **Cat Island **Eleuthera **Grand Bahama **New Providence, with the capital Nassau. * * (British dependency, shares the Virgin Islands with the U.S. Virgin Islands.) * (British dependency) ** Cayman Brac ** Grand Cayman, with the capital George Town ** Little Cayman * is not a Caribbean country, but has some islands in the Caribbean sea: ** San Andres and Providencia * * ** Bird Island - Disputed territory with Venezuela located about 110 km(70 miles) west of the island of Dominica. * (shares the Grenadines group with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) ** Petite Martinique ** Carriacou * (overseas department of France) ** Basse-Terre ** Grande-Terre ** Iles des Saintes *** Terre de Haut *** Terre de Bas ** Marie-Galante ** Iles de la Petite Terre ** La Désirade ** Saint-Barthélemy, also Saint Barts ** Saint-Martin (part of the island Saint Martin shared with the Netherlands Antilles; note the dash) * Hispaniola ** ** * is not a Caribbean country, but has some islands in the Caribbean sea: ** Islas de Bahia department *** Guanaja *** Roatan ** Swan Islands * * (overseas department of France) * is not a Caribbean country, but has some islands in the Caribbean sea: ** Cancún ** Isla Mujeres ** Isla Cozumel * (British dependency) *Navassa Island (US insular area) * (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) ** Bonaire ** Curaçao ** Saba ** Sint Eustatius ** Sint Maarten (part of the island Saint Martin shared with Guadeloupe) * is not a Caribbean country, but has some islands in the Caribbean sea: ** Corn Islands * (commonwealth associated with US) * **Saint Kitts **Nevis * * (shares the Grenadines group with Grenada) ** Bequia ** Canouan Island ** Mustique ** Palm Island ** Saint Vincent ** Union Island ** Young Island * ** Tobago ** Trinidad * (British dependency) ** Grand Turk ** Providenciales * (territory of the USA, shares the Virgin Islands with the British Virgin Islands) The nations of Belize and Guyana, although on the mainland of Central America and South America respectively, were former British colonies and maintain many cultural ties to the Caribbean and are members of CARICOM. The Turneffe islands (and many other islands and reefs) are part of Belize and lie in the Caribbean Sea. Indigenous Tribes * Arawak * Carib * Ciboney * Garifuna * Lucayan * Taino See also * African diaspora * British Afro-Caribbean community * Caribbean English * Caribbean medical education * CONCACAF * Council on Hemispheric Affairs * History of the Caribbean * Indo-Caribbean * List of islands in the Caribbean * Music of the Caribbean * Politics of the Caribbean * Tourism in Caribbean * West Indies Federation Regional Institutions Here are some of the bodies that several islands share in collaboration: * African, Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP) * Association of Caribbean States (ACS) * Caribbean Community (CARICOM) * Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) * Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) * Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) * Caribbean Regional Programme for Economic Competitiveness (CPEC) * Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) * Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) * Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC) * Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) * United Nations - Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Category:Caribbean Category:Americas ca:Carib da:Caribien de:Westindische Inseln es:Islas Caribes et:Lääne-India eo:Antiloj fr:Antilles id:Karibia it:Antille nl:Caraïben ja:西インド諸島 no:Karibien nds:Karibik pl:Karaiby pt:Caribe sv:Västindien tr:Karayipler zh:加勒比海国家